Annie Pearson, first year teacher at Crest Elementary School, shared how she utilized “Crowdfunding” to equip her classroom with an impressive array of resources… We were impressed by the learning we observed, but equally impressed by her entrepreneurial leadership. Thank you Annie for sharing this resource with our colleagues across Cajon Valley! See pictures and details below…
David

“DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on our site, and you can give any amount to the project that most inspires you.

When a project reaches its funding goal, we ship the materials to the school. You’ll get photos of the project taking place, a letter from the teacher, and insight into how every dollar was spent. Give over $50 and you’ll also receive hand-written thank-yous from the students” (www.http://www.donorschoose.org/about).
As a new teacher, Donors Choose has helped me supply materials for my classroom that I could not have provided otherwise. I’ve been very lucky to have my first two projects fully funded within a month of posting on the website! Our first project was called “Let’s Get Rockin’ with a new Listening Center” where we received an organization box, over 50 books on CD, and a new CD player. Our second project allowed my students to get in touch with their organization skills with the project, “Organization is Key”. We now have individual chair pockets, pencil tubs, paper tubs, and drawers to help keep our classroom organized. This project was flash-funded by OshKosh B’Gosh in full right before the end 2014! I’ve been very fortunate to been given generous donations from family, friends, parents, and the community around Crest Elementary school to fund these two projects and in less than a week into our 3rd project, we have raised over $200 thanks to the matching promotions that Donors Choose gives to each teacher. My fellow teachers at Crest have also been successful in funding 5 projects this year. Donors Choose is an amazing website that every teacher should look into!

Thank You,

Annie Pearson
2nd Grade Teacher
Crest Elementary School
M.Ed. — Math, Science, and Technology Education
M.Ed. — Curriculum and Instruction
University of San Diego